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Projects

A project groups all your application files together: code, images, and sprites. This guide explains how to create, open, and manage your projects in JARU IDE.

Start Screen​

When you open JARU IDE, you'll see the project wizard start screen.

From here you can:

  • Open a recent project: The left list shows projects you've worked on recently. Double-click one to open it.

  • Create a project from an example: The right list contains ready-to-use example projects. Double-clicking will create a copy in your projects folder that you can modify freely.

  • Create a new project: Click the New Project button to start from scratch.

  • Open another project: Click the Load Project button to browse for a project anywhere on your computer.

Creating a New Project​

When you click New Project, you'll see the configuration form.

Project Information​

Fill in the following fields:

  • Project name: Choose a name that identifies your project. The name must start with a letter and cannot contain spaces or special characters.

  • Directory: The folder where the project will be saved. The default is Documents\Projects, but you can change it with the browse button.

  • Author: Your name. It will be included in code comments.

  • Version: The initial version of your project (default is 1.0.0).

  • Description: A brief description of what your project does (optional).

Additional Options​

You can enable these options according to your needs:

  • Create README.md: Adds a documentation file with basic project information.

  • Create LICENSE: Includes a license file. When enabled, you can choose the license type (MIT, Apache, GPL, etc.).

  • Initialize Git repository: Creates a Git repository for version control of your code. Requires Git to be installed on your system.

Finish​

When everything is ready, click Finish. The IDE will create the project and open it automatically.

Project Structure​

In the Project Explorer​

The explorer shows three folders where you'll organize your work:

Empty JARU IDE project explorer with Code, Images, and Sprites folders

  • Code: Your code files (.aru). The main file is created automatically with the project name.

  • Images: The images your application will use (PNG, JPG, etc.).

  • Sprites: Sprite definitions (.spr), which combine images with region and animation information.

On Disk​

When creating a project, JARU IDE generates the following folder and file structure:

my-project/
├── Code/
│   └── my-project.aru    ← Main file
├── Images/
├── Sprites/
├── Resources/
├── Config/
├── Build/
├── my-project.jpr        ← Project file
├── README.md             ← (optional)
├── LICENSE               ← (optional)
└── .gitignore            ← (optional)

The Resources, Config, and Build folders are for internal IDE use and don't appear in the project explorer. The Build folder is where compiled files are generated when you run your program.

The Project Explorer​

The left panel of the IDE shows all your project files organized in folders.

Opening a File​

Double-click any file to open it. The IDE will open the appropriate editor based on the file type:

  • Code files (.aru) open in the code editor
  • Images open in the image editor
  • Sprites (.spr) open in the sprite editor

Context Menu​

Right-click on the explorer to see the options menu:

JARU IDE project explorer context menu for creating code files, images, sprites, and folders

Create New Items

  • New Source: Creates a new code file (.aru)
  • New Image: Imports an image into the project
  • New Sprite: Creates a new sprite file (.spr)
  • New Folder: Creates a subfolder

Other Options

  • Open in Explorer: Opens the item's location in Windows Explorer
  • Rename File: Changes the file name (not available for folders)
  • Delete File: Deletes the selected item
Note

The rename and delete options are only available when an item is selected. Rename only works with files, not folders.

Moving Files​

You can drag files from one folder to another to reorganize your project.

Note

If the destination folder already has a file with the same name, the IDE will show an error and won't allow the move.

The Main File​

Every project has a main file that serves as the entry point of your program. When you run the project, execution starts from this file.

By default, the main file has the same name as your project and is located in the Code folder. For example, if your project is called "MyGame", the main file will be Code/MyGame.aru.

// MyGame
// Created: 2025-01-15
// Author: Your name
// Version: 1.0.0

println('Hello World from MyGame')

From the main file, you can import other files using import:

import "config.aru"
import "player.aru"
import "enemies.aru"

// Your main code here

Saving the Project​

The project is saved automatically when you make changes to the structure (creating, renaming, or deleting files). Changes to file contents are saved when you press Ctrl+S or when closing the file.

Tip

If you enabled Git when creating the project, remember to make commits regularly so you don't lose your work.